Gregory the Great (Wisigothic)→Unknown|gregory great
From: Gregory the Great, Pope, in Rome
To: Urbicus, abbot
Date: ~594 AD
Context: Gregory instructs Abbot Urbicus to receive a man named Agathon into his monastery, if Agathon's wife also agrees to convert to religious life.
Gregory to Urbicus, abbot.
A man named Agathon wishes to enter your monastery and embrace the monastic life. This desire is, in itself, admirable. However, the circumstances of his marriage complicate the matter.
A married man may enter the religious life only if his wife also enters religious life — the obligations of the married state and the obligations of the monastic state are incompatible if only one partner embraces the latter. Canon law is clear on this.
I therefore direct you: if Agathon's wife is willing to similarly commit herself to religious life — whether in a monastery or some other recognized form of dedicated life — then receive Agathon. If she is not willing to do this, he cannot enter.
Let him know the condition. Allow him to discuss it with his wife. Then act according to the result of that discussion.
Gregory
Context:Gregory instructs Abbot Urbicus to receive a man named Agathon into his monastery, if Agathon's wife also agrees to convert to religious life.
Gregory to Urbicus, abbot.
A man named Agathon wishes to enter your monastery and embrace the monastic life. This desire is, in itself, admirable. However, the circumstances of his marriage complicate the matter.
A married man may enter the religious life only if his wife also enters religious life — the obligations of the married state and the obligations of the monastic state are incompatible if only one partner embraces the latter. Canon law is clear on this.
I therefore direct you: if Agathon's wife is willing to similarly commit herself to religious life — whether in a monastery or some other recognized form of dedicated life — then receive Agathon. If she is not willing to do this, he cannot enter.
Let him know the condition. Allow him to discuss it with his wife. Then act according to the result of that discussion. Gregory
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.